Anthems for Santa
by Flowing Tears
Summary: Nero celebrates his first Christmas at the office. Can a mistletoe curse you? Is that what happened to this Grinch character? Slight D/N. A drunk Lady and the appearance of Kyrie! Dun dun duuuuun.


Title: Anthems for Santa

Summary: Nero celebrates his first Christmas at the office. Can a mistletoe curse you? Is that what happened to this Grinch character? Slight D/N. A drunk Lady and the appearance of Kyrie! Dun dun duuuuun.

Genre: Romance/Humour.

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry characters, demons, environments etc, etc. Any OC, demon or location not recognisable is mine.

Rating and Warning: T for some language and naughty things. Some OOCness. Drinking and too many OCs at a party.

A/N: Yay, I like X-mas. It's probably one of my favourite holidays. First place goes to Sinterklaas, a holiday celebrated in Holland and Belgium. Lol even though I'm too old to be receiving gifts from Sinterklaas!

…- Anthems for Santa -…

Ah… Christmas.

The season of gift giving and greeting cards. Where the pain in your hand from writing cards is dependant on how many people you know, love, like and pretend to like but actually hate.

The season of music and special meals shared with dear family and friends. The perfect time to wonder if it's ok to pig out on all of that delicious food, if it will not ruin your figure and whatnot. Well… you can resort to dieting again next year anyway.

The time where even the grouchiest of people are overly nice and friendly. That scary neighbour who complains about those lousy kids and their hipping and hopping and other loud music. How their pants are too low or their make-up too much. Even he is nice.

The perfect time to go overboard with decorations. Enough said.

And the perfect time to receive gifts from a chubby man in a red suit. Who rides in his slay pulled by his reindeers. He comes all the way from the North Pole to deliver them, the toys made by his enslaved worker elves.

"They're not enslaved." Trish suddenly cuts in, handing him another beer.

"Having to make toys for a whole year for a fat man in red, when it's much easier to buy the damn toys does not sound very liberal to me." The teen states matter of factly taking a swig. The blonde woman laughs and slaps him on the back.

They share more pleasantries, watching the lively party and downing their beer. There are a few people Nero recognises, often smiling and waving at them in greeting. Devil May Cry is bustling with many different people, all enjoying the Christmas party the slayers are throwing. It had been a lot of fun decorating the office. This is Nero's very first Christmas and upon hearing this Dante had taken upon himself the task of showing what Christmas is all about.

Which basically means decorating a tree and the house, buying presents for the people he likes and getting hammered.

Sounded good in Nero's opinion.

"So how are you liking Christmas?" A weight suddenly pins itself on the teen. If Nero had been any less stable on his feet he would have fallen. Lady gives him one of her creepy smiles, indicating she's a little too happy with how things are going. Maybe she had a little more to drink then would be good for a human. Oh well, she's fun when she's drunk. Even Dante loves her like this, to the extend he tries to slip some alcohol into _everything_ she drinks, eats and if he could, breathes. "It's fun… I dunno…" He smiles, wrapping his free bringer around her waist to keep her standing.

Normally this would have earned him a harsh look and a bullet to the ass, but now the black haired girl only smiles at him before her attention is drawn to the beautiful blonde to Nero's left. "Haz he told im yet?" She queries with a slip of the tongue addressing the other woman. "Nope." Trish shakes her head and takes another sip of her beer. "Aaaw…" The girl in his arm murmurs before steadying herself onto her feet. Obviously this is some secret Nero is not allowed to know, or else he would have been filled in.

He raised two silver eyebrows when Lady suddenly looks at her can. "Someone keeps drinking all my beer! I have to get a new one." She pushes herself away from the young man and staggers a little bit. "I better go help her." Trish smiles, giving the teen a wink before following the tipsy Lady.

Chugging down the beer the young man carefully scans the crowd. There are many people he already knows, and only a few people who he doesn't. There are a few devil slayers from other regions, people who sometimes come to Dante when they have a job that is too much too handle. In a business like this one would think that devil slaying is a competitive industry. The opposite has shown itself to the young man many a time before. There are strippers, both male and female, some from Love Planet and a few from other joints. A few people that have not so normal jobs, like shaman or devil tamer came too, making the crowd diverse. Still Nero couldn't feel more at home.

A sudden shriek of joy pulls the young hunter from his thoughts. "Nero!" The red headed girl nearly throws herself at her brother, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Who would've thought Christmas is so much fun?" She releases him, giving him a big and warm smile. "Fun isn't it?" He replies, his attention momentarily drawn to the small crowd cheering.

"Sure is. The streets are so pretty now with the snow and the lights and the…" She begins rambling about her day. About the things she's learned while being in town. Nero had moved to Devil May Cry to peruse a career as a devil slayer, albeit reluctant because he had to leave his sister. Knowing Nero was beginning to feel a little homesick Dante had contacted the girl and had convinced her to stay for a few days. Without a second thought she had agreed to come, overwhelmed as much as Nero had been when she learned of the wonderful days that were Christmas. The teen mentally kicks himself for the umpteenth time, he had been so exited to see her again that he had forgotten to thank the elder. She was staying in one of the elder's spare bedrooms, across the hall from Nero's.

"…with a Santa. He is some kind of magician! I mean I was shopping with Lady and Trish and we saw at least seven of him! He has to be using magic if he…" Ah yes, the fat man in red. Nero had been quite creeped out by the idea of a fat man in red brining you presents in the middle of the night. The fact that people leave him cookies and milk had surprised the teen but his confusion was quickly turned into hilarity when Dante had commented this, placing a bottle of Jack and some gum on a small stool near the tree.

"…magic item called mistletoe." This once more catches his attention. He gives her a questioning look. Of course she quickly catches on. "There is a mistletoe above the door to the kitchen. They say that if you end up beneath one with another person you have to kiss them or else you will be cursed." She tells him this story with so much belief Nero wonders if this mistletoe has something to do with this 'Grinch' character he's been hearing about all the time.

A man who hates Christmas? How can you hate something as fun as this? Maybe he had been standing under a mistletoe once and hadn't kissed the other person. It does make sense. The idea sends a shudder down the teen's spine. Wondering if Kyrie had learned of this Grinch he turns to face her, but she has already vanished, mingling with the crowd.

Shaking his head and smiling softly Nero decides it's best if he studies this mistletoe, should he ever be beneath one but not realise it. He could end up being cursed too!

Making his way through the other people enjoying the party Nero can't help but grin at the ladies on the pool table. Trish is dancing with Candy and Roxy, two of the strippers from Love Planet. There is a small crowd surrounding them, cheering the girls on. Nero spots Lady leaning against the table screaming 'take it off!' the loudest.

Shaking his head once again Nero continues towards the kitchen door, eyes falling on the green evil nailed to the wooden frame. He comes to a halt beneath it, carefully studying it. This is definitely the mistletoe Kyrie was mentioning. But what's so weird is that it's just a twig with green leaves. There is a red ribbon tied around its little stem to keep it hanging from the nail. The younger man concentrates for a moment, not feeling anything magical radiating from it. Even his bringer, which usually reacts to the slightest magical of demonic doesn't react stronger then usual. Sure it softly pulsates, after all Dante, Trish and a few other peculiar people are at the party. But no reaction to the twig whatsoever. Maybe Kyrie had misunderstood the story of the cursed mistletoe.

But then… what about the Grinch?

"Hey kid, why the frown?" The question draws the teen from his quiet pondering. Dante is now standing in front of him, a new beer in both his hands. "That's better." He laughs softly when the questioning frown disappears from the younger man's complexion. He dismisses the little incident, knowing the young man is probably mulling over the whole Christmas ordeal.

Nero however, has not forgotten where they are, underneath what and more importantly, this evil creature Grinch. Becoming a little anxious and not wanting to curse himself or Dante the younger man grabs the elder's shirt by the collar, levelling their faces and pressing his lips against the other's. Who would have thought Dante's lips were this soft? Not to mention he tastes like beer, Jack and pizza. He feels the other man go rigid but the younger man refuses to let him go too soon.

Hoping to whatever Christmas spirits there might be that a few seconds is enough Nero pulls back from the other's lips, fighting the need to lick them.

Through all this Dante had been shocked, eyes wide and feet rooted to the floor. He nearly dropped the beer too.

"Don't worry, I don't think we'll be cursed now." The younger slayer smiles softly, proud of himself for saving himself and the older man. He releases the soft material of the elder's shirt and walks away, hoping that Grinch will one day be cured from his curse too.

-Einde

Whoo! Merry X-mas, happy holidays and all that, hope you'll get a lot of presents, eat wonderful things and manage to burn your tree without burning the house down!


End file.
